The annual election for the Farm Service Agency County Committee is coming up.

The first step in the process is for qualified voters to nominate candidates.

If you are qualified to vote in the county committee election, you can nominate yourself or your favorite producers to run for a seat on the committee. The county office staff will begin accepting nominations July 15. The deadline for submitting nominations is September 3.

The county committee helps make national farm programs fit the needs of local producers. For example, they make decisions on price support loans, allotments and yields and disaster assistance.

Any qualified voter can nominate a producer on a FSA-669A form. Producers can also nominate themselves. Nominees must be qualified to vote in the election. They must also sign the nomination form.

Forms are on hand at the county office. You can also find them online at

www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/elections

.

This year the election will be held in Local Administrative Area 2 (LAA-2) and Local Administrative Area 4 (LAA-4). LAA-2 encompasses the following Butler County townships: Lancaster, Muddy Creek, Center, Franklin, Donegal, Oakland, Butler, Connoquenessing, Clearfield and Summit. LAA-4 encompasses the following Beaver County townships: Darlington, North Sewickley, Marion, Franklin, South Beaver, Chippewa, Daugherty, Rochester, New Sewickley, and Brighton.

Since the county committee serves all the producers in the county, we want to make sure the interests of all producers are represented.

We would like to see more women and minority producers involved in the election process. That means more women and minority producers nominating candidates. It also means more women and minority producers running for a seat on the committee.

Do you want a voice in making decisions that affect the farming community? Get involved in the county committee election process.

Some might not remember it, but a while back farmers were asked to fill out the 2002 Agricultural Census for USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS. The report is now available, and if your family is among the 50 percent of farm families who, according to the census, have Internet access, you can view the report online.Among the census highlights:Ninety percent of farms are operated by an individual or family. The number of corporate farms declined by 18.4 percent from 1997 to 2002.The average age of principal farm or ranch operators was 55.3-years-old compared to 54-years-old in 1997. Results showed an average age of second operators at 49.4-years-old and third operators at 41.9-years-old.To view or download the 2002 Ag census, visit www.usda.gov/nass, and click on the "Census of Agriculture" link.